MOTHER OF THE GROOM
My son’s wedding weekend has finally arrived. It came with waves of emotion that washed over my keyboard, then trickled and stilled, like the feelings I have long learned to push down.
Because just like little boys are raised to grow up tough, so is a little boy’s momma.
One minute she carries her son balanced upon one hip while his chubby legs kick at the other. The next minute, she is forced to set him down and watch as those little legs carry him away.
That’s the kind of hit a boy momma learns to take.
Over time, she gets used to sitting in the bleachers while dad paces a little closer to the fence.
A mom will accept this post without protest until a flag is thrown, her son is down, and everyone takes a knee.
Then she will forget her place to jump a chainlink wall, and may God help anyone that gets in her way.
But once all is well, she goes home to pack a sandwich, fold a napkin, and tuck them into a brown paper bag to send with her boy as he returns to his world. Although despite her best efforts to restrain herself, she may grab a marker and draw a smiley face heart next to his name.
“Have a nice day!” she waves him off with a smile and onto his next adventure -to the tree fort, to college, to the rest of his life.
For deep down, a mother knows that those smears of mud and peanut butter left on her son’s face can’t always be chased after with a freshly licked thumb.
She will wake one day to find him shaving coarse whiskers from those soft, smudged cheeks and will step back to leave room for them to grow.
And when her son packs up to walk out her door for the very last time, he will leave a trail behind him that no momma can ever manage to pick up.
Because from the moment he first arrived, he wrecked her world with an easy smile and melted her heart down to a puddle with his charm. Her soul will wear his sticky fingerprints long after he’s taken a bride.
That is just one mess a boy momma has to live with - the beautiful chaos of loving a son.
All your sons will be taught by the LORD; and the well-being of your sons will be great. Isaiah 54:10 nasb